CongregationalistMarch2022 : simplebooklet.com

Table of CONTENTS Features 4 6 8 RETIREMENT MAY NOT BE YOUR HIGHEST PRIORITY RIGHT NOW 12 12 WE KNOW IT S OURS 24 When you re called to serve the concerns of others are often more important than your own Especially when it comes to thinking about your retirement 26 MMBB looks out for your concerns We specialize in planning ahead for clergy and church staff We do all the work preparing for your future Our kind of financial expertise makes MMBB an indispensable partner for pastors and churches 110 years and counting 28 Lay Ministry Training by Polly Bodjanac Theology and Private Personal Worship by Grove Armstrong Departments A Diverse and Loving Church 20 by Michele Marot Daring Errand by Judd Anderson AMC 2022 by Dr Donald P Olsen Lloyd C Douglas and The Congregationalist by Ronald R Johnson Moving Ministry Out of the Meetinghouse by Dr Rev Charles Packer by Dr Rev Charles Packer Minister Emeritus Celebration Supporting your calling is our calling Lloyd D Douglas by Rev Dr Ashley Cook Cleere Quiet Day Moves to New Day THERE S NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW LEARN MORE MMBB org what we offer ON THE COVER A Fifth Century Perspective 23 28 30 31 NEWS NEEDS AND PRAYERS OF OUR MISSIONS NECROLOGY LETTER TO THE EDITOR PASTORATES AND PULPITS CALENDAR EDITORIAL STATEMENT All content in The Congregationalist appears by the authority of the editor We reserve freedom of expression to our authors and freedom of opinion to our readers Except for service information clearly sponsored by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches NACCC or its component parts content does not necessarily reflect policies and opinions of the NACCC Neither The Congregationalist nor the NACCC has a creed or holds positions on social or theological issues but we recognize the authority of each local church to do so for itself if and as it wishes and we encourage thoughtful and respectful discussion of our agreements and differences

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NAC C C From the desk of Our NACCC Executive Director By Reverend Dr Ashley Cleere Executive Director National Association of Congregational Christian Churches A N N UA L M E E T I NG CO N F E R E NC E J U NE 2 5 2 8 2 0 2 2 W I C H I TA K A N SAS And the Greatest of These is Love A Fifth Century Perspective S ome have described these months in the wilderness of COVID 19 as an unending Lent This somber season in world history echoes the harsh first winter at Plymouth Weary Pilgrims isolated from loved ones across the pond deprived of shelter from the elements fraught with illness lost a significant portion of their number Four hundred years later in the face of tragedy Congregational Christians forge ahead once again with deep faith Under the shadow of the pandemic these first months of the fifth century of American Congregationalism deliver these learnings Worship remains a priority The novice phase of gathering virtually or live streaming moved to the advanced level of hybrid worship Congregants partake of communion in ready to eat containers Ardently they sing hymns with voices muffled by masks or heartily from living rooms with nary a soul to share a pew A quest for authenticity decries the temptation to over technologize True to the Congregational Way each church fashions an approach that suits their community The human spirit is resilient After a pause in the intensity of the 4 crisis Omicron put us back on high alert This time we were not caught off guard Protocols once foreign are now familiar and implemented routinely Eager sometimes impatient for days of reduced stress Congregationalists seek new ways to be the church addressing challenges that lay dormant for months with courageous clarity Seek the lost Freedom to choose levies an emotional tax as people accommodate risk variously Questions arise How can we live out covenants with one another when we respond to external pressures in different ways When we see some people online and others in person What is the most loving way to proceed Focus on horizons near and distant The Pilgrims departure from England suffered a series of delays When a second ship the Speedwell leaked dangerously her passengers boarded an already overcrowded Mayflower The manifest changed but the goal of arriving in the New World did not Difficult symptoms positive tests and emerging variants make us adept at revising immediate plans or near horizons Hold fast to the future the distant horizons God is infinite When the day comes that we resume a full complement of activities we will not be the same people who embarked on this harrowing journey The horror of the pandemic will bear new contexts for Christian nurture Yet this sorrowful marathon equips us with openness to unexplored possibilities With hearts focused on present needs we rely on faith as the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of things not seen 1 CORINTHIANS 13 13 L ove Ta l ks L ove o f G o d D i a n a B ut l e r B a s s dia na b utlerbass com L ove o f Neighbo r Valar ie Kaur va lari ekau r com Love o f Self Mihee Kim Ko rt mk i mkort com C o n g re gat i o n a l Ta l k A sh l ey C l e e re naccc org new exe cutive d i re cto r Venue D rury Pl aza Hotel Broadview Wichita dr ur y h o tels co m lo c at io n s w ic h it a k s dr ur y pla z a h o te l b ro a d v i ew w i c h i t a HOSTED BY P LY MOU TH CONGR EGATI ONA L CH U RC H U N I V E RS I TY CONGR EGATI ONA L CH URC H 5

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Renovated program begins for LAY MINISTRY TRAINING by Polly Bodjanac S eptember 1 2021 was Inauguration Day for the recently modernized NACCC Lay Ministry Training Program Through the dedicated efforts of the Lay Ministry Editorial Board and by the power of the Holy Spirit we were able to launch this new program with 10 dedicated students Let me introduce each student and a brief description of why they are taking this class Marilyn Tiraldo Stafford Springs Congregational Church Stafford Springs Connecticut I am in the LMTP because I want to grow in my faith and become more knowledgeable in my relationship with God Allow God to use me according to his will for instance become a pastor or missionary Also to bring others to God and show them the wonderful change he has made in my life Nancy Hayes First Congregational Church of Royal Oak Royal Oak Michigan I am participating in the Lay Ministry Training Program to further my own spiritual growth and to gain knowledge that will help me to support local church leadership With the changes that churches are facing it is important that we consider alternatives to the way things have always been done The three levels of the program discipleship lay leadership and pastoral leadership will give participants a foundation for church leadership Michelle MacDonald First Congregational Church of Stonington Stonington Connecticut I am in the Lay Ministry Training Program LMTP as I am interested in learning more about Congregationalism its history and its polity in further discerning my spirituality and my faith and in understanding how to translate this knowledge into living a more Christian life I believe that with the support of my mentors instructors 6 fellow cohort members and other available resources available through the LMTP these goals can be achieved Peggy Jessup First Congregational of Wayne Wayne Michigan My objective was to support my church with service once I retire from my job which will be probably the exact time I finish Weekly visitations to members Backup or support to the local minister Guidance support for grief counseling Any other support as needed to the church members Linda Shaw Becket Federated Church Becket Massachusetts I am taking the ministry lay pastor program because I love the yoked congregation that I belong to and I want to serve them with this opportunity to become a lay pastor I feel led to continue to strive for greater closeness to God in relationship to that love for my Christian community I don t know all of the ways that the Lord will use me but I know that He is not done yet and wants me working for the congregation Judith Johnson First Congregational Church of Marshfield Marshfield Massachusetts I am taking the lay ministry training course because I want to know more about the Christian religion I would like to help my church and pastor and gain greater understanding of what it means to be a disciple of Christ I am studying in this class to get more understanding of the people in our church who have helped form the church in the past and where we are today Jeffrey Kauffman Congregational Church of Bound Brook Bound Brook New Jersey I entered the LMTP program because I have been by default our lay minister with the passing of our ongoing licensed lay minister I have served in many ministerial capacities especially in periods of pastoral transition I found that in serving this program will help me to serve my congregation in the future and present and that I may in a future life after retirement possibly serve other congregations pastorally Stephen Rice Jackson First Church of the Nazarene Jackson Michigan Why I am in the LMTP I can sum it up in one Word Jesus God has guided me toward this program because it is opening opportunities to expand His outreach through me to multiple denominations Plus Matthew 9 37 is every bit as relevant today as it ever has been as the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few and Jesus is fully worthy of many laborers building His kingdom Harry Vega Jr Stafford Springs Congregational Church Stafford Springs Connecticut I am grateful to be a participant in the LMTP because it has rekindled my Spirit and relationship with OUR LORD AND SAVOR JESUS and in this process the teachings are preparing me to go out and spread the good news And it has also allowed me the chance to fellowship with good people and made the bond between me and my wife closer P S I never knew I was an undercover Congregationalist till now And I am proud of it Kathleen Vsetecka Becket Federated Church Becket Massachusetts The Lay Ministry course was brought to my attention by Pastor Bill Mullholland I joined it as way to find greater purpose in Christ by studying His Word and thus getting a stronger Biblical foundation With the increased knowledge I hope to be better able to serve families and churches as they deal with issues such as mental and physical illness I hope to become a better church leader by applying God s words to everyday life by words and actions so that I might show them the way to God s salvation and the love God has for them Students are grouped together in a Cohort called Cohort A and learn on their own with a mentor and virtually with an instructor and the other Cohort students Cohort A Year 1 students are at Level 1 called Discipleship This level is designed for the individual who desires to grow in their Christian faith and understanding Courses in Year 1 include Hebrew Scripture New Testament Scripture Church History Theology Missions and Evangelism and Spiritual Formations Level 1 instructors include Reverend Charles Packer Reverend Norm Erlandson Reverend Sue LeFeber Reverend Chris Surber and Reverend Stu Merkel Each instructor brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to their topic and students enjoy a rich variety of backgrounds and perspectives Will you please pray for these students as they continue in their studies Please pray for their schedules to free up adequate time for studies for God to enable provision to cover fees for the students to draw nearer to God and for God to reveal to them their purpose in serving Him The Lay Ministry Training Program is created for individuals who wish to gain skills with a goal of helping their church and its ministries Our next Cohort is beginning to form In September 2022 Cohort B will begin their Level 1 Discipleship classes and perhaps you know someone wanting to go deeper in their faith so they can better serve God in your fellowship Maybe this is just what God is calling them to do If you have questions about the program or would like more information on how to become part of a future Cohort group please contact Polly Bodjanac Program Administrator pollybodjanac gmail com or Laura Wright NACCC Staff lwright naccc org Is God calling you to make a change THE CHURCH ON THE HILL DIXFIELD MAINE If small town life in beautiful western Maine sounds appealing you may be the spiritual leader we seek Our pastor of 20 years retired and we are searching for the right person to help us move forward and grow our church Dixfield Congregational Church has a strong foundation of hard working and diverse members united by faith in the Gospel of Christ We seek a full time pastor to lead our closeknit and welcoming church family Learn About Us Access our Church Information Form at naccc org For Additional Information Email mary dailey dcc gmail com or mail PO Box 615 Dixfield ME 04224 Atten Search Committee 7

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Grove Armstrong is Minister Emeritus of Central Congregational Church in Derry New Hampshire He retired in 1966 after sixteen years there Today Grove and his wife Charity live in Bear Delaware The theology of the preceding article has been taught by Rev Armstrong at the Bible Fellowship Church of Newark and the New Life Alliance Church of Newark The Theology of PRIVATE PERSONAL WORSHIP by Grove Armstrong M eeting Jesus in his Word and in prayer is a privilege one of the most valuable blessings ever given to mankind Fruitful ministry daily victory and abundant life grow out of these blessed times with Jesus Unfortunately in the holy endeavor to encourage believers to read their Bible and pray daily we have unwittingly changed these gracious blessings into obligations and duties robbing them of almost everything they can provide and corrupting our Christian theology of grace as well For many sincere earnest Christians having quiet time is just something they do as a duty It is something they feel guilty for neglecting although having devotions adds little to their spiritual vitality and joy It is not the rich blessing that it could be It is my prayer that understanding and putting into practice the truths I offer here will liberate you from the burden of obligation and guilt relative to your devotional life and make your daily devotions times of joy and blessing meaningful life changing humbling enriching encounters with Jesus Christ in his Word The change from obligation to blessing begins with a new understanding of what personal worship will and will not do for you This understanding will deliver you from the sense of obligation and guilt and motivate you to approach your worship times with joyful anticipation Consider first what personal worship will not do for you The word merit has at least two different meanings value Exercising daily has real merit and claim His performance merits earns a raise in salary Personal worship has no merit claim before God It earns us nothing It gives us no claim on God regarding our salvation or anything else Reading the Bible and praying will add nothing to Christ s saving act on your behalf The Bible is very clear about this For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it is the gift of God not by works so that no one can boast Eph 2 8 9 The Apostle s testimony What is more I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for whose sake I have lost all things I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law from the things I have done and achieved religious activities prayer worship witnessing but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith Phil 3 8 9 We have been singing this wonderful truth for generations in the words of this great old gospel song by Augustus Toplady Rock of Ages Not the labors of my hands can fulfill the law s demands Could my zeal no respite know could my tears forever flow All for sin could not atone thou must save and thou alone Nothing in my hand I bring simply to thy cross I cling Naked come to thee for dress helpless look to thee for grace Foul I to the fountain fly Wash me Savior or I die Having personal worship will not make God love you more than He does already The Apostle Paul praises the glory of his God s grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved In whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace Eph 1 6 7 KJV The exact same thing is true of our relationship with the Lord We are His children and He loves us We are His children whether we take time to worship Him and talk to Him every day I am confident that He loves it when we do but talking to Him doesn t make us more loved than we already are Having personal worship will not improve your standing with God When a person realizing his need of Jesus Christ for salvation looks to God in faith for forgiveness of sins and asks Christ through the Holy Spirit to come into his heart and be his Savior he has according to Scripture become in Christ Eph 1 3 4 Once you are in Christ you cannot be more in Christ The ark that Noah built was a type of Jesus Christ Once they were on board they were safe Once inside the ark nothing they could do would make them more inside That is the same with us Once we are in Christ by faith there is nothing we can do to make us more in Christ The same idea is expressed in the Bible in legal terms God predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ Eph 1 5 Once we are adopted the deal is done We are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ We can add nothing that will make it more official Meeting Jesus in personal worship will not make us more His sibling and not meeting Him will not make us less His sibling Having personal worship will not cause the Holy Spirit to bless your ministry God s blessing on our ministry is not based on our dutifully having daily devotions but upon his grace Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law worship and pray and do everything just right or because you believe what you heard Gal 3 5 Christ died for our missings of the mark 1Cor 15 3 In summary Personal worship has no saving merit gains us no favor with God earns us nothing Personal worship does not make us more His sons and daughters than we already are Personal worship will not obligate God to bless us or our ministry Personal worship will not cause God to love us more than He does already Personal worship has nothing to do with our being justified before God or earning His favor Personal worship daily meeting Jesus as beneficial as it can be is not a duty It is not a daily obligation for which we will be condemned or penalized if we do not set aside time to do it I have emphasized these points not to discourage daily worship of the Lord but to liberate you to really benefit from it Meeting Jesus in His Word and in prayer is a privilege one of the most valuable blessings ever given to us and I want to help you benefit from it After affirming that having devotions merits us nothing from God you might ask Why then should I take time out of my busy schedule to have devotions When you truly meet Jesus Christ your Savior every day and spend quality time with Him you will discover and cherish the many rich blessings that will come to you Consider what meeting Jesus in personal worship can do for you Meeting Jesus in personal worship can help you develop a vital personal relationship friendship with Jesus The essence of Christianity is a relationship with Jesus Christ Christianity is a religion with rituals and routines and a way of life However if it is not also a relationship a friendship with Jesus Christianity is just a religion The Apostle Peter calls that way of living that religion of rituals routines and rules the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers 1 Pet 1 18 Material prosperity joined with worship rituals and Christian practices and rules of behavior do not fill a person s life with joy peace and enthusiasm But a vital relationship with Jesus nourished by fellowship with Him in His Word and prayer will provide those blessings The beloved old gospel song In the Garden illustrates the blessing that meeting with Jesus in personal worship brings into our lives Notice that the last verse implies that even Jesus enjoys the meeting I come to the garden alone while the dew is still on the roses And the voice I hear falling on my ear the Son of God discloses And he walks with me and he talks with me and he tells me I am his own And the joy we share as we tarry there is the sweetest I ve ever known Continued In the public domain 2 In the public domain Last line altered The original phrase none other has ever known seems exclusive even arrogant 1 8 9

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Meeting Jesus in personal worship can give you a deeper understanding of the nature and character of God greatly enhancing your inner peace All our hope in life is based on the character of God His goodness enduring love power wisdom and faithfulness are the foundation of all our trust all our peace all our joy all our enthusiasm all our hope Psalm 100 4 tells us to Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise give thanks to him and praise his name Then it tells us why For the LORD is good and his love endures forever and his faithfulness continues through all generations Ps 100 5 We can rely on his promises because he is totally dependable He is not a man that he should lie nor a son of man that he should change his mind Does he speak and then not act Does he promise and not fulfill Num 23 19 Throughout Scripture we are urged to trust God to have faith in him But we can t trust someone we don t know whether his name is William or Jesus People who know Jesus well can say with Job Though he slay me yet will I trust him Job 13 15 KJV There are many situations in life when the only way we can have peace is to trust God If we can trust Him with everything we will be kept by His peace Phil 4 7 But if we can t trust Him because we don t know Him well enough we won t have peace It is psychologically impossible to completely trust someone we don t know very well even if that person is God All our peace joy and hope depend upon our knowledge of and confidence in Jesus In our daily 10 Continued The Theology of PRIVATE PERSONAL WORSHIP meeting with Him in his Word Jesus reveals God Himself to us so that we can trust Him Meeting Jesus in personal worship can bring you into fresh contact with yourself I have found that when I am reading the Bible it is reading me That reality agrees completely with Scripture The writer to the Hebrews said The Word of God is living and active Sharper than a double edged sword it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit joints and marrow it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart Nothing in all creation is hidden from God s sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account Heb 4 12 13 It is amazing how we can fool ourselves about our walk with the Lord about our lifestyle about our attitudes about our real goals and ambitions This fact also agrees with Scripture In Jeremiah 17 9 10 the Holy Spirit tells us The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure It is so deceitful that Jeremiah asks Who can understand it The Lord answers I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind That is exactly what I find Him doing when I am worshiping Him in his Word Jesus is speaking clearly telling me what He sees in me When I am with Him with His written Word open before me I meet the real me That is how I discover who I am and what I need to change He also gives the encouragement and help and grace I need to make the change Meeting Jesus in personal worship can keep you focused on what really matters in this life This world that our Lord created with the breath of His mouth is incredibly wonderful and alluring There is beauty everywhere New challenges face us almost daily Opportunities for pleasure and adventure appeal to us constantly These beautiful and wonderful things as well as difficulties dangers troubles disappointments and the business of making a living try to engage our full attention and will if we let them Personal worship will help keep us focused on Jesus His blessed will for our lives and the truly important things in life Meeting Jesus in personal worship will continually inspire and encourage you to pray for loved ones and friends and for whatever you need In reading his Word you will see how much emphasis Jesus put upon prayer as the way to get what we Christians need to accomplish what he wants us to accomplish to defeat the enemy and overcome temptation He has persuaded me that prayer is the most powerful instrument in the Christian s toolbox Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up Luke 18 1 What a pregnant phrase and not give up What inspiration to keep on praying He implied that at times God s answers would be delayed He knew that we might get weary or discouraged in waiting and be tempted to decide our request is not God s will or to think God can t or won t persuade a person to come to Christ Or even worse be tempted to think that we are not worthy enough for Him to listen to us So Jesus said Do not give up Jesus in my meeting Him in the Scriptures has convinced me that the most effective thing I can do for anyone is to pray for him or her He has persuaded me that the most important work I can do is to pray for the things that I believe God wants to see accomplished The Lord Jesus can meet you in the Scriptures in your personal worship to give you the encouragement and endurance you need to live triumphantly in this life The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 15 4 that the Old Testament Scriptures were written to teach us so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope The race we Christians run is not a hundred yard dash but a lifelong marathon The person who regularly meets with Jesus is like the marathon runner or bicyclist who stops for a drink and sandwich at designated refreshment spots Without those refreshing oases along the way the competitors would not be able to complete the race triumphantly Being alone with Jesus in the early morning makes me much more aware of His presence with me all day long He is there providing whatever I need during the day calmness energy patience strength and the sense of divine companionship of not being alone Psalm 91 1 says He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shelter of the Almighty NKJV I love meeting Him in the secret place and living under His shadow all day Meeting Jesus in personal worship can correct your theology and help you avoid error Religious denominations have different perspectives and somewhat different doctrines Although most orthodox denominations are in basic agreement on the major doctrines of the Christian faith there are many differences in the application of the various doctrines to life even different understandings of the meaning of some of the most significant words of our orthodox Christian faith Furthermore some churches have left the orthodox teachings of Scripture and no longer proclaim historic Christian truth Besides that there are many cults with strange ideas and unbiblical doctrines This is why meeting Jesus in His Word is so important He will correct your theology and help you avoid soulcrippling error Also significant is that our understanding of truth is not always correct Our understanding may not be God s truth If our understanding of the truth we live by is wrong we may end up in real trouble That is another reason worshiping God in His Word is such a blessing I hope these ideas have persuaded you that personally meeting with Jesus in His written Word can be a lifeenriching lifesaving means of grace to you enabling you to go joyfully to your Bible to meet Jesus free of obligation and guilt and enter into genuine Scripture guided fellowship and conversation with Him In my next article we will explore the practice of personal prayer Join the Conversation The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches recently launched a dedicated discussion forum exclusively for individuals of member churches This resource enables users to interact on current topics in congregational life Areas of interest have been established to heighten connectivity The Member Forum is a place to share ideas ask questions gain knowledge make suggestions provide guidance or simply to connect www naccc org member forum 11

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AAND DIVERSE L OVING CHURCH O ur pews are less than half full but our postpandemic in person numbers are slowly increasing Many still watch our weekly service and weekday devotions remotely some for safety reasons some for convenience But those who have joined us in person have said that they feel a genuine sense of warm welcome the minute they walk through the doors and to us that s more of an indicator of success than numbers The Congregational Church of the Chimes has been in existence since 1950 We weren t always as progressive as we are today Rather we ve evolved to be more inclusive and accepting of others caring and loving all people regardless of race culture or sexual orientation as we believe Christ loves all people regardless of race culture or sexual orientation Many of us were filled with dismay at the events of 2020 more from the societal response to racial injustices than the pandemic itself Located in Sherman Oaks California we witnessed rioting looting and protests locally emotional flames were fanned by egregious events caught on cell phones as well as hateful words of blame hurled at ethnic groups by white supremacists It was all too much We needed to discuss and process all that was happening in our own neighborhood and across the country Some of us joined protestors on the street carrying signs to support Black Lives Matter Others walked along Ventura Boulevard to help sweep up 12 Michele Marot is a retired middle school teacher Michele writes articles and is co editor of her church s monthly newsletter Chiming In by Michele Marot shards of broken glass and encourage shop owners that everything would be alright but for now keep it boarded up We wanted to meet together as a church community to sort through all the chaos and hatred that swirled around us like some invisible virus in attack mode Our group the Congregational Church of the Chimes Racial Equity Group was born out of a dire need to understand the current resurgence of racial inequity In September 2020 we started meeting via Zoom our only option during the COVID pandemic We initially met to discuss a video interview with Dr Bernice King from Central Church in Las Vegas Nevada in which she discussed her Father s work in light of current events Then as a group we decided to read the highly recommended book Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum It explained the concept of white privilege and other hot topics but after a few months we were distracted by all the many and diverse atrocities occurring weekly Meeting only once a month there was plenty to discuss It wasn t so much a question of What chapter are we on in the book as much as which ethnic group is in the news and suffering hate crimes this month As our senior minister Reverend Dr Beth Bingham said Our focus seems to change month to month as the need arises according to which group has been under attack So our Racial Equity Group which averages about ten people and is internally diverse gathered and discussed resources that could help people understand and heal Everything we ve done and are doing is driven by need One outstanding outcome from the group came from longtime church member George Delaney a diversity statement for our church A diverse and loving Christian Community accepting of all You ll find that statement on our church website in the weekly worship bulletin on our calling cards business cards and on a banner in front of our church so those driving by will know they are welcome here You ll also find a StopAsianHate statement supporting Asian Americans on our website NEXT STEPS Unable to meet physically yet hoping to in the near future we have brainstormed some church events to promote more diverse gatherings Some of the ideas we hope to implement include 1 Incorporate more activities with the Hispanic and Korean churches that share our facility 2 Host An International Banquet not a fund raiser but more of something we d like to break even on People will buy ticket books entitling them to sample myriad diverse foods from different cultures represented at each of the food booths 3 Start a Traveling Drama Team to present not only original skits and plays at our church and invite other churches to join us but we could also take it on the road 4 Host a Movie Night to screen titles that deal with racial equity followed by discussion Of course we are only in the talking stages of these activities as we aren t completely open yet from the pandemic however we are planning and working behind the scenes In conclusion and as a member of the Church of the Chimes Racial Equity Group I d like to say that in these troubled times when societal norms don t seem to exist and racial injustice keeps rearing its ugly head it has been really wonderful to have a monthly group where we could meet discuss what we ve seen going on locally and around the country commiserate console each other and try to move in a positive direction RECOMMENDED READING Adult White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo Across That Bridge by John Lewis Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum Young Adult Literature Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston The Circuit by Francisco Jimenez You are being called Our Church Family Seeks New Senior Pastor s After more than 20 wonderful years of service at the First Congregational Church in Spencer Iowa our husband wife co pastor team has retired Having completed a full year of defining ourselves with an intentional transitional pastor we are ready for our next chapter We seek a new Senior Pastor to join our church family and guide us Some highlights of our church and community Below you will find some of the resources we ve utilized that you may find helpful ONLINE IBM Breaking the System an interactive anti racism Activity Kit https www ibm org activities break the system Addressing Vaccination Hesitancy in BIPOC Populations an essay by Delaney Jack https drive google com file d 1rS8E6zMzCMCfdvhLea06eu_ 5pNMZgU3m view usp sharing Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan Hurry Freedom African Americans in the California Gold Rush by Stanley Jerry Children s Literature So Far from the Sea by Eve Bunting The Ballad of Lemon Grove by Christy Hale The Black Snowman by Phil Mendez Biddy Mason Speaks Up by White and Arisa Growing safe community New director of youth family ministries Debt free congregation Well maintained updated facility In 2022 we celebrate our 150th year and so much more We hope this calls to you and encourages you to read about our church and our beliefs Thank you for considering our church family and its pastoral opportunity DISCOVER FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH SPENCER Visit our website www congospencer org or see our Church Information Form through the NACCC at www naccc org Contact us at info congospencer org 13

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DARING E RRA ND Judd Anderson grew up in Colonial Church He is working on a book on Arthur A Rouner Jr Remembering Arthur A Rouner Jr s Bold American Ministry P By Judd Anderson rotestant Christianity comes in myriad flavors denominations and labels The Reverend Dr Arthur A Rouner Jr who died on December 16 at age ninety two defied them all Yes he was a died in the wool Congregationalist the author of The Congregational Way of Life 1960 who lived and breathed Pilgrim faith and courage as if he and his parishioners were only weeks not centuries removed from the inhospitable beachhead at Plymouth Rock But he was sui generis trained in the liberal tradition at Union Seminary in the early fifties but drawn to the Holy Spirit the power of prayer and faith healing Making upwards of 1 600 pastoral visits each year of his fortyyear career in three pastorates it was both his love and his fierce pulpit that pulled those on the liberal left to the right those on the born again right to the social activist left and those in the comfortable church going middle to a burning sense of social justice based on Jesus take up your cross and follow me Senior minister at the Colonial Church of Edina Minnesota from 1962 1994 disaffected Unitarians and old fashioned fundamentalists felt equally attracted to the man and his inspiring faith We are here to win lives for Jesus We have no other purpose in the church than that he said expressing a Christ centered theology jarring to the do gooders in the friendly community church of the affluent Minneapolis suburb He was hired to bridge the divide in a church narrowly voting not to join the United Church of Christ UCC but the warring camps soon forgot the tiff when he seized the pulpit It was a long time ago he said a few months after his arrival in upscale Edina in February 1963 that the sin of America started along the shores of New England in the seacoast cities like the one where I grew up Portsmouth New Hampshire a proud city of clipper ships But they brought from the coast of Africa living black men women and children in chains The sin of the fathers is that they degraded the children of God and taught us to degrade them too Then in blunt intimate terms he looked down on his well heeled congregation Don t say No black cargo in Edina no difficulties next door to us Don t you listen to them who say that They are wrong We live in America We are part of the problem Surprisingly many of the lawyers bankers and 3M executives hung in there with the brazen thirty three year old He invited them to come to Christ the language of Billy Graham but also take responsibility for a broken world My father in the throes of his falling apart marriage in 1964 was said Rouner the first person I ever led to Christ Many others followed but not because of a throw back hell fire and brimstone George Whitefield preaching convincing every one of their pitiable lives Rouner wept right alongside his polished parishioners as if both he and they suffered wounds they dared not admit On the other hand he seemed to lack fear even as Arthur A Rouner Jr he openly confessed to be wracked by it In his first sermon out of seminary for instance at a tiny Williamsburg Massachusetts church in the fall of 1954 he revealed what was to come I will not kow tow he said to the prejudices and opinions of men by clothing the Gospel in the wrappings of modern secular thought with its religion of science its psychopathic preoccupation with security and its ceaseless search for success By the time he got to Edina he fearlessly said You become exciting vital beautiful powerful and influential by pouring your life out for others by taking risks by acting with courage for Jesus An early vocal opponent of the Vietnam war by 1966 he accompanied eighteen year old parishioners to register as conscientious objectors to stand strong with his hero Martin Luther King Jr against racial inequality and to bring in black preachers during the summer months acts that reflected few of the sentiments of his well to do mainline congregation many of whom often grumbled loudly under their breath after his social justice anti big business sermons Social justice may have been de rigueur for Clergy and Laity Concerned CALC and for Riverside Church in New York City but not Midwest suburbia Rouner didn t care Following Jesus as your personal savior he said meant dedicating twenty five percent of the annual operating budget of the church to mission a practice that lasted for four decades even after he left committing to the inner city to Indian reservations in Northern Minnesota and the Dakotas and eventually to African missionary work where in the nineteen eighties he led hundreds of parishioners to visit Kenya Ethiopia Uganda and South African slums not just to do good but to build friendships become inspired by people of deep faith return home changed and then keep going back year after year He did so until he was eighty five Growing up in his father s Old North Church in Portsmouth New Hampshire one might expect the younger to be a chip off the old block of Arthur Rouner Sr formal rational and philosophical After all he followed his father to Harvard and Union Seminary On the other hand Betty Rouner his mother was the daughter of Baptist missionaries She brought a personal sense of Jesus into their home So when Rouner walked forward at age twelve to give his life to Christ at the urging of a dynamic traveling preacher the national mile champion Gil Dodds he did what his heart desired Then at age seventeen sitting on the bow of a ship in 1946 returning from a service trip to a war ravaged Europe he looked to the sky and realized he had no answer to those who lacked faith In that moment he believed God called him to the ordained ministry But it wasn t until his middle year of divinity school when he studied under the great James Jamie S Stewart at the University of Edinburgh Scotland that he learned what it meant to seize the pulpit preach from the heart and believe like Stewart to be A Man in Christ the title of one of Stewart s many books After five years in Williamsburg 1954 1959 and three in Newton Center Massachusetts 1959 1962 the indefatigable pastor arrived in the Midwest with Molly his wife and four children a fifth soon to arrive ready to do more than tend sheep We are not saints and martyrs We are not the pure the clean and the innocent We are the troubled the tense the sick at heart the despairing Sin is the darkness inside us He voiced what lay within the heart of many On top of the hundreds of annual pastoral visits he led a dozen Bible studies a month both in downtown office buildings and at suburban pancake houses He hired a full time youth minister right out of Young Life in 1965 What will he do all day asked his colleagues at other churches By the early seventies he hired Bob Guelich who later taught at Fuller to teach Hebrew Greek and scholarly exegesis to the laity way ahead of normal church practices By the mid seventies he hired Dave Williamson to lead a pastoral counseling staff conducting 1 500 counseling sessions per year and building support groups ranging from Grief to Job Transition to kids and parents suffering from anorexia and bulimia as society seemed to be falling apart in the throes of social change The Singles Support Group for instance grew to 2 400 members by the late seventies a sign of the times in the wake of the social upheaval of the sixties The church grew in two decades from 1 600 members to 3 800 members while most mainline denominations seemed asleep at the switch Equally inspired by Billy Graham and Bill Webber of the East Harlem Protestant Parish where Rouner worked his senior year in seminary Rouner layered social justice on top of a decision for Christ If you were going to be rich in the suburbs he said quoting Gibson Winter s The Suburban Captivity of the Churches 1961 you d better share your wealth give it away use your resources for the poor serve the city the only moral way to justify a privileged life in an affluent suburb Continued 14 15

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ons sussi n di hur i lead er s Art Continued Arthur on the SD reervation Almost from the start Colonial linked arms with all black Sabathani Baptist Church downtown devoted resources to fund Sabathani s community building and worshipped on Sundays the buttoned up white folk rocking and rolling to the glorious Gospel choir and mouthing Amen s as preacher Ron Terry spoke from the heart without a script Minneapolis Plymouth Avenue riots in 1967 signaled to Rouner to up his game We re through as a church unless we care for others Rouner said unless our heart breaks for the world for the Vietnam boys and Biafran children and South American tribes and Minnesota Indians and Northside blacks and Southside prostitutes and pimps and pushers and a city full of lonely alcoholics and a stream of desolate frightened men coming out of prisons and schools full of bewildered children So the church responded to his unbroken link between Jesus and justice founding The Colonial Residence for Delinquent Girls a street academy for juveniles a multi racial nursery in a struggling UCC church on Fifth Avenue downtown two halfway houses for recently released prisoners and the support of countless organizations such as Plymouth Youth Center in the African American north side of Minneapolis Loring Nicollet Youth Center in the largely Native American part of town Jim Turpin s Project Concern in Vietnam Tijuana and Appalachia Giving money was not enough Colonial members went to Indian reservations up north and in the Dakotas and brought Indian youth to their houses mine included for the summer Then the wheels seemed to fall off A week after his hero Martin Luther King Jr s assassination in 1968 Rouner contacted John Mickle a black leader in the Sanitation Union Strike in Memphis where King was protesting the night he was gunned down Rouner asked Mickle to be Colonial s summer preacher to come with his wife Sadie to live in Rouner s house the parsonage located in the fancy Country Club neighborhood and preach for six weeks Then he revealed to the church that a parishioner had called him the week before to resign Colonial Church because the summer minister was going to be a black man That man is not Christ s man Rouner said of the caller from the pulpit He may be a good fellow but he is not Christ s man He asked the congregation Are we Christ s man Have we promised him our hearts and lives I do not think in the darkness of these days men of good will can wait for a convenient season to decide for Christ Overall Colonial warmly welcomed the Mickles Then when Robert F Kennedy was gunned down Rouner put his cards on the table I have decided to dare that I no longer care what people think he said It is too late for genteel hypocrisy saying nice inoffensive things His actions spoke just as loudly For a few years thereafter it became a tradition for black ministers and activists including Bill Pannell at the time an assistant to evangelist Tom Skinner then for forty years on the faculty of Fuller and Howard Thurman author theologian to occupy Colonial s pulpit in the summer Restless and troubled about racial and social unrest Rouner continued to wonder whether he was in the right job Maybe he d run for public office go write a novel anything to heal himself and a nation that was at war at home and abroad Although despairing he stayed and preached boldly I know there are people who ve stormed out of here over the last few years taking their love and their money with them saying I come to church for peace and rest and he just stirs me up and makes me feel guilty I ve gotta care about niggers and drunks and hippies and communists Caring is okay but when you gotta care for the Kennedys and Martin Luther King and Cardinal Cushing and the black athletes at Mexico City and for illicit lovers and kids on dope then I ve had it no more for me Some congregants left but most stayed because underneath his call to action Rouner s personal Jesus preached and practiced was contagious By the mid seventies nearly two dozen Colonial young people were in seminary following this influential man s path to bring Jesus and justice to the world I was one of them Now that Colonial was firmly outward oriented the tide abruptly turned A consummate pastor much of what he preached over the next decade reflected the falling apart families before his very eyes and turned into a few of his twenty four books Marryin Sam Speaks Out Baker 1973 How to Love Baker 1974 and Healing Your Hurts Abingdon 1978 among them Nothing has hurt me more profoundly and personally he said of the seventies as a minister nor hung as a darker pall over my pastoral life than my ringside seat on the overwhelming tragedies occurring in the lives of people who are dear to me as friends and indeed as Christian brothers and sisters In fact one congregant accused him of preaching for a year and a half on love Rouner said I stand here every day amid the shambles of the broken love of people precious to me and I m supposed to get off the subject of love When have we needed more to love and be loved to talk about it to think about it to learn about it than right now Ironically after years of fighting for so called liberal causes in the sixties he started to feel helpless to stem the tide of grief and hurt as the pendulum of liberality swung too far in the seventies He campaigned to maintain Edina s restrictive liquor laws spoke out for the rights of the unborn after Rowe v Wade for sex occurring only in marriage and later for marriage being only between a man and a woman He rarely followed the mainstream or even some of his own past currents In the 50 s and 60 s young bucks in the ministry like me pressed our congregations of frozen New Englanders and frightened Scandinavian Midwesterners to open their hearts to black people as friends But the essence of Christian tolerance or racial differences is found first of all in the acceptance of interracial marriage he wrote in a Minneapolis Star and Tribune commentary Morally strict in another op ed he railed against the Christian Right with whom he had piety and many moral Roun er s and DARIN G ERRAND stances in common for their selfrighteous fundamentalism that lifts the Bible above God that fears education and scholarship that speculates about who are true Christians and uses Biblical prophecy to justify war He said we evangelicals are people with a passionate love for Jesus who want to tell his love to a world that is hurt and broken and lost without him Actually Colonial members didn t even know they were evangelical One of my church friends got to Gordon Conwell Seminary in 1978 and asked What s an evangelical At Colonial labels didn t apply Then Rouner stirred the waters even more After being baptized in the Holy Spirit in 1972 he held altar calls healing services and services for Pentecostal renewal even though four on his staff were Baptists not their thing who nervously went along He spoke in tongues and made people uncomfortable He knew he was pushing everyone left right middle with another unpopular idea If I blow it in this town he said from the pulpit soon after his Charismatic experience I ll blow it as a man willing to be a fool for Christ s sake I m ready to make an ass of myself an unprofessional blithering amateur with no cool or anything Just faith Emboldened he laid hands on people and prayed for actual healing of illness and disease Too risky some said to me You raise expectations and then if they are not healed they will lose faith He didn t listen His new highoctane spirituality led him not only to preach the Holy Spirit but to lead his congregation to build a great new campus and then launch a worldwide mission At Colonial anything seemed possible in 1979 including a new threemillion dollar facility on twenty three acres a sanctuary seating for 1 000 and a spire visible from a main commuter artery west of Minneapolis Designed with his beloved New England in mind the village of connected buildings reflected Rouner s deep belief that We are like our pilgrim fathers on their great Errand in the Wilderness daring always the unknown even as he boldly defended himself against those who claimed he was on an ego trip by moving from a neighborhood church to a world church Having overseen both Colonial s growth and dynamism Rouner was now in charge of a megachurch before the term had been coined The plan of Jesus is for us to be a church in mission he announced in the early eighties a telling church a good news salvation offering church whether to fancy folks in Edina or simple souls of the Pokots in Kenya but only if we receive the spirit will we have a mission at all In response to a plea from World Vision in 1981 to help with the famine in east Africa Rouner and a team of parishioners from Colonial and four other Minnesota churches visited fundraised and created African friendships by going year after year waves of parishioners participating Colonial built a house in Kiwawa Kenya where teams could stay without displacing the missionary community In addition to Ethiopia and Kenya the church worked in Uganda Tanzania and South Africa different projects and partners in each hundreds of Minnesotans going millions of dollars raised My mom and stepfather both new born again Christians were among the first to sign up in 1982 becoming missionaries and founding Kinyago Dandora School now serving 1 000 in grades K 12 in the Mathare Continued 16 17

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DARIN G ERRAND FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH SEEKS MINISTER SALT LAKE CITY UTAH Continued Valley slum outside Nairobi Rouner dreamed of staying until 2000 at Colonial but the intense call to serve Africa cracked his long romance with the people of Edina God called me to the people of Africa just as surely as He called me first to follow Him and then to be a minister to those wonderful congregations in Massachusetts and Minnesota It was a painful parting with Colonial in 1994 filled with misunderstandings and hurt But generous foresight on the part of church members helped establish the Pilgrim Center for Reconciliation from which Rouner and his wife Molly married seventy two years conducted dozens of healing retreats among the Tutsis and Hutus of Rwanda and Burundi in 1996 97 soon after the devastating atrocities Dubbed by World Vision The Gentle Maverick Rouner and his wife worked in Africa until 2015 their mid eighties doing what Rouner did best responding to Jesus radical call to love your enemy to go against the voices of our time to hate as he said in one of his recent blogs the last one coming six days before his death Rouner s beloved Colonial Church of Edina recently voted to change its name to The Meeting House Church both a nod to its Congregational history and a way to distance itself from imperialistic connotations with the term colonial Ironically love not self gain dominated Rouner s life ministry and the success of Colonial Church Seeking a Full Time Minister to Serve Our Church Our current pastor is retiring after 10 years of serving our church family First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa is located in a suburban metro area just 15 minutes from downtown Milwaukee The city is home to the Milwaukee Regional Medical Center several universities and colleges We seek a senior minister who will focus on loving and listening shepherding and coaching equipping and facilitating our 400 plus active members so that together we may share in the worship and service of God and make God s will dominant in our lives especially as set forth in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ KEY RESPONSIBILITIES Provide overall visionary and spiritual leadership to the church Conduct worship and preaching Engage and maintain relationships with members and friends of the church Offer pastoral care Support the teaching and spiritual enrichment of the congregation to help them apply the Word in their daily lives Cultivate visibility in the community The people of First Church Tosa have celebrated over 180 years in service to God and our community sharing our Covenant As followers of Jesus Christ we commit ourselves to share in the worship and service of God to grow in the knowledge and expression of our faith to reach out with compassion to those in need to treat each other with love and understanding and to return to God a portion of God s gifts LEARN MORE ABOUT US To express your interest in this position you are invited to send a cover letter and resume to search firstchurchtosa org 18 Visit firstchurchtosa org View our church profile at naccc org Salt Lake City is a vibrant young city that offers a great variety of outdoor activities as well as many opportunities to enjoy music dance and theatre The city is home to colleges and universities museums good schools and hospitals and professional sports teams As we make plans to sell our The core of our ministry is worship We are seeking a Minister who is current building and move to a new home First ConAn articulate and dynamic speaker providing thought progregational Church wants to voking sermons that relate to our modern life honor our 157 year old history and the foundation that Able to provide opportunities to explore our faith outside of it has given us We hope to Sunday worship such as Bible Study and book groups build on our past and continue to be a Christian presence Able to embrace a theologically diverse congregation whose in the Salt Lake Valley We members value individual judgement on matters of belief look forward to moving in and Bible new directions free from the financial burdens and reCaring compassionate and comfortable helping members sponsibilities a large building through immediate health issues and life transitions requires Strong in pastoral leadership to help us envision new ways to engage with our community and encourage congregational participation Will you be the one to join us and guide us on our faith journey as we continue to be a welcoming faith community of love tolerance and inclusiveness Willing to work with people of other faiths and help us connect with the interfaith community Willing to work with lay leadership Able to provide vision and new ideas to help us develop a sustainable future First Congregational Church is a member of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Additional church information is available at naccc org For inquiries or to apply contact Ken at kwrockwell yahoo com 19

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News Needs and For more information on NACCC missions or to donate please contact Missions Administrator Julie Robie at 800 262 1620 or 603 642 7270 or email jrobie naccc org National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Missions and Outreach Ministry Council PO Box 288 Oak Creek WI 53154 For a complete listing of NACCC Mission Projects or to donate please visit our website www naccc org and click on Missions Outreach request from our Gift delivery ready to go Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Team Worship A CHRISTIAN MINISTRY IN THE NATIONAL PARKS COLORADO HOSANNA INDUSTRIES PENNSYLVANIA From Amy Kennedy Thank you to everyone who prays for and supports ACMNP Current needs are for Care packages for our 6 winter teams Everglades Zion Death Valley Grand Teton and Great Smoky please contact akennedy acmnp com for the list We are in need of a trailer to pull behind a pick up truck for our IMPACT trips We have considered purchasing one but wanted to check to see if anyone has an old one or would like to contribute specifically for that need We imagine it will be used several times a year for training board meetings alumni reunions and primarily impact trips We would also appreciate postage stamps for mailings From Katie DeJournette Every December Hosanna Industries hosts an event called Gift Delivery Local churches in our area generously purchased and wrapped gifts for each member of the families and individuals who received our assistance throughout the year All the gifts were numbered and matched with the many willing volunteers who offered to take the time to deliver gifts to those that need Christmas most In addition to the gifts donated beef donated whole chickens and canned goods from our Harvest program were delivered as well Gifts were provided for 75 households this Christmas season Our deepest gratitude to all those that help make our ministry possible ASOCIACION CIVIL CRISTIANA CONGREGATIONAL ARGENTINA From Rev Dr Harding Stricker We welcome your prayers and support for the following programs Health service outpatient attention and free delivery of medicines Soup Kitchen which offers hot meals for up to 250 children each Saturday Food Bags are also being provided to 40 families each month because of the severe crisis caused by one of the highest inflation rates of the world around 52 Sponsorship food clothing supply school items fees and free regular health checks Regular church services youth group meetings and Bible school for children and teenagers Sport Center which offers a soccer and volleyball field under roof and is used all week keeping children and young people away from the streets thus preventing the use of alcohol and drugs CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF MYANMAR MYANMAR From Rev Elvis Sa Do Sadly Myanmar is moving into a big civil war as we are seeing many uprisings across the country and now there are thousands of victims Families need your prayers Our North Dagon township is still under martial law Please pray for the safety of our ministries Grace Children s home in Yangon needs your prayers for their daily food care and education needs which include provisions for an adequate number of teachers CHRIST TO THE VILLAGES NIGERIA From Matthew Oladele We were excited to be able to give Christmas packages to over 160 widows and needy in Shao and few more in Igbo Emu Akuo Aro and Agogo villages We shared 8 bags of Rice 50Kg each 5 bags of Beans and 4 bags of Gari Cassava flakes Through this we were able to touch many families during Christmas with the love of Christ ECHO FLORIDA From Amy Wiggins As part of ECHO s training for West African Bible Schools a workshop was recently held in Tamale Ghana This brought together future ministry bound men and women for training focused on Sustainable Agriculture The Church and Development and Agriculture and Evangelism At the end of the training one of the students exclaimed God is right when He says My people perish for lack of knowledge Hosea 4 6 I am convinced that the Lord called me to His service to receive such teaching FISHERS OF MEN MEXICO From Julie Claassen After nearly two years of being unable to carry out the Evangelistic Medical Mission Crusades due to the COVID 19 pandemic Fishers of Men rejoices at the opportunity to begin planning and coordinating our first crusade of 2022 We look forward to once again taking the Good News of Jesus Christ to those lost in the darkness of sin as we seek to express Christ s love by providing free medical care dental care prescription medications eyeglasses and haircuts among other services To God be the glory and thank YOU NACCC churches for partnering with us in spreading the love light hope and salvation of Jesus Christ With this new knowledge I can bring comfort and development to my community ECHO s trainings are equipping Bible School students and pastors to provide for their families HAPPY LIFE CHILDREN S HOME KENYA From the Happy Life Directors 2022 will mark the 20th anniversary of Happy Life We continue to receive children who were abandoned abused or neglected We particularly saw an upsurge of siblings being abandoned Kenya experienced both the new Omicron Variant and Influenza and we saw growth in number of patients seeking treatment We participated actively in the vaccine drive as well as testing for COVID 19 If you would like to read about the journey of a little boy named Gideon please go to https youtu be tWv1OckdZrc The New Year was a time to celebrate Children celebrate communion and confirmation 20 Christmas provisions Crusade director Adrian Tovar and his wife Vero Ready for school 21

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News Needs and request from our Continued PANAMERICAN INSTITUTE MEXICO MORGAN SCOTT PROJECT TENNESSEE From Juana Santos On my last day of work in December and the year 2021 I want to thank you for all your efforts to help us accomplish our dreams of providing the opportunity to earn a better life to our students and their families Mucha muchas gracias May God reward you with lots of health and love I m happy to say that on Saturday December 18th thanks to the generosity of sponsors we provided Cash Christmas Baskets and Christmas gifts to 62 families God is good We came back for online classes on January 3rd From Crystal Tompkins Morgan Scott Project had a blessed 2021 year We made the best of what came to us and prayed through the hard times We were able to give out monthly food boxes as well as weekly perishable foods on average to 75 families per week New Light educational program picked up with the return of high ed students to the classroom It s our belief education is the way out of poverty Our programs have continued through it all We were able to do a few ramps and repairs programs thanks to donations to pay for labor As always our donors and volunteers keep us going God is good Students show their gratitude 2021 projects include ramp repairs HAPPY LIFE CHILDREN S HOME KENYA LOVE WORTH SHARING HAITI From Rev Charles Sagay Happy new year to you all from Mission of Hope We want to thank you all for the wonderful things you did in 2021 to make the year a good one for us and our Baka community Last year we also had challenges and difficulties but the Lord showed himself faithful One of the sad situations we experienced was the passing into glory of our mother and partner who has been there with us from the beginning Donna Jean Powers We want to use this opportunity to extend our heartfelt condolences again to her family Thank you so much also for food support In November we gave out food to 30 of our desperate community members Hunger can be very frustrating and is a good fuel for crimes and domestic violence Mama Amara expressed her gratitude I am speechless this food is really an answered prayer to our family My children will no more go hungry From Jim and Cindy Owens To say that 2021 was a difficult year is an understatement the year began with the entire country of Haiti in a state of unrest and things only got worse We had a presidential assassination multiple kidnappings fuel shortages out of control gang activity plus two earthquakes and a hurricane and yet through it all God still reigns We serve Jehovah Jireh the Lord our God who provides for our needs beyond measure Over and over this past year God has provided to meet the needs We have been blessed to have received financial and material donations from many individuals groups and churches We still have several houses to rebuild but the road to Maniche is still damaged and unfit for a truck to travel that can take in the needed materials We will continue to wait and pray for the situation to improve Donations of food sustained the most needy Children s Christmas Party WORD ALIVE MISSION GHANA From Rev Charles Nyane The Word Alive Christian Academy is a Primary and Junior High School of the Mission The school works among many villages within a 20 mile radius Each morning the school bus will convey pupils to school and send them back to their homes after school hours It is this same school that the children at the Word Alive Orphanage attend The academic standard of the school is excellent and has had 100 percent passes at the National examinations The school has received several awards Apart from the various subjects such as Math English Science and Social Studies the students are taught the Bible do devotions before classes begin and attend special church services organized for all the pupils each week The idea is to build Christian values and character in the children Hospital construction continues 22 Reverend Robert William Gault II 1943 2021 The Reverend William Gault II of Polk Ohio died on November 29 2021 He earned his degree in religion and pastored churches for 47 years serving churches in Georgia Connecticut Virginia Ohio and Michigan He was pastor of the Sullivan Ohio First Congregational Church for the past 12 years He was active with the Ohio Association of Congregational Christian Churches the Kairos Prison Ministry and Ewing Woods church camp An avid motorcyclist Robert was a member of the Christian Motorcycle Association Chapter 693 He served in the U S Marines for 21 years which included Vietnam and Desert Storm and retired as Master Gunnery Sergeant He is survived by his wife Lois two children four grandchildren five great grandchildren and siblings Gwen Kenneth Ammie Beverly and Renee Donations may be made in Robert s memory to Sullivan First Congregational Church and the Christian Motorcycle Association Reverend Donald B Keepers 1927 2021 The Reverend Donald Boynton Keepers passed away on November 21 2021 in Pomona California A third generation minister he was Associate Minister and Minister of Education at Pilgrim Congregational Church Pomona from 1966 1978 and would frequently guest as a preacher or leader of services during his retirement Prior to moving to California in 1966 he was minister for Advent Christian parishes in Lynwood Washington and then Medford Oregon His involvement in NACCC included NAPF Co Director Don earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Aurora College now Aurora University Illinois in 1956 From 1978 until his retirement in 1999 he was a funeral director at Todd Memorial Chapel in Pomona His activities included the Lions Club Little League coaching and serving as Summer Church Camp director and chaplain He is survived by his children five grandchildren and one great grandchild His wife Doreen died in 2009 Reverend Dr Leslie Cleveland Wicker 1943 2021 Dr Les Wicker died on October 25 2021 He was a minister for over 60 years serving churches around the country Les earned a Master of Divinity from Duke University and a Ph D from University of North Carolina in Greensboro Les was the founding pastor of the First Congregational Church of Naples Florida establishing the church in 2004 He describes the history of that effort in his book The Miracle Church He also authored and published three other books Les served missions in Honduras and missions for children in various parts of the world He helped build Habitat for Humanity homes and led marriage enrichment retreats and family development programs Active in the NACCC Less served on Congregational Church Development between 2008 and 2012 He was an avid golfer and fisherman who loved to travel Les was a devoted husband father and grandfather He is survived by his wife of 56 years Phyllis two sons two brothers his sister and six grandchildren Donations may be made in his memory to the care of First Congregational Church of Naples for the Ebenezer Christian School 23

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And the Greatest of These is Love AMC 2022 Love Dr Donald P Olsen Dr Donald P Olsen is Senior Minister at Plymouth Church in Wichita Kansas co host with University Congregational Church of the 2022 NACCC Annual Meeting Conference 1 CORINTHIANS 13 13 L ove Ta lks And the greatest latest book Outside the Lines How Project to inspire and equip advocates Embracing Queerness Will Transform at the intersection of spirituality L ove o f G od Di an a B ut l e r B as s of these is Your Faith was reviewed by Jeff Chu storytelling and justice Valarie s debut author of Does Jesus Really Love Me book See No Stranger A Memoir and dianabutlerbass co mwrites Mihee Kim Kort does Chu Manifesto of Revolutionary Love was L Love Talks ove speaks not only in the tongues of angels but also in all the tongues of humanity Moreover it speaks without lips or tongue in actions too great too intimate too gracious for human language Faith hope and love these three abide still the greatest of these is love writes Paul to the church at Corinth because he wanted to show the church a still more excellent way Love here is not a rush of good feelings it is the sweet work of relationships sometimes arduous and other times effortless that validates one s faith and hope Which is how and why love talks In the twelfth chapter of Mark s Gospel a teacher of the law asks Jesus which commandment is the greatest Jesus reply was three fold Our three speakers for this year s Annual Meeting and Conference in Wichita Kansas will explore the three expressions of love Jesus named Love of God Love of Neighbor and Love of Self 24 a beautiful sacred thing in calling us released in 2020 and expands on her back to love love for our bodies love blockbuster TED Talk for one another but above all God s In his review of her book Brian relentless love for us With grace McLaren writes In the first chapter elegance and vulnerability she weaves of Valarie Kaur s new book I felt I together elements of theology church was reading the best definition and Bass holds a PhD in religious studies history and her own story With the description of love I had ever come from Duke University and is the author heart of a pastor and the kindness of across As the chapters unfolded I felt of 11 books Her bylines include The a friend she demystifies queerness I was seeing rage grief healing and New York Times the Washington Post opening up expansive possibilities for a joy all in a fresh light See No Stranger CNN com Atlantic com USA Today liberated whole life of faith is deep brilliant sensitive emotionally Huffington Post Spirituality and Health Her writing and commentary can moving and absolutely needed at this Reader s Digest Christian Century and naccc org newexecutive d ire ctor be found in the New York Times critical moment in our history It is Sojourners dianabutlerbass com TIME BBC World Service USA Today simply put among the best books Huffington Post Christian Century On I ve ever read Being Sojourners Faith and Leadership Valarie earned degrees at Stanford The Revealer forthcoming and University Harvard Divinity dr ur yhotels com locations wichita ks drury plaza hotel b roadview wichita Religion Dispatches forthcoming She School and Yale Law School is co pastor with her spouse of First valariekaur com Presbyterian Church in Annapolis HOSTED BY Maryland and a doctoral candidate in PLYMOUTH CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH Religious Studies at Indiana University with degrees in divinity and theology U NIVERSITY CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH from Princeton Theological Seminary and English Literature and Religious Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder mkimkort com Love Talks Love of Neighbor Love talks of Wichita too the Valarie Kaur biggest little city you may ever visit Valarie Kaur is a renowned civil and we hope you do From the Drury rights leader lawyer best selling Hotel visitors can walk a path to author award winning filmmaker Wichita s iconic 44 foot Cor Ten steel educator innovator and celebrated Love Talks Love of Self Keeper of the Plains sculpture It is prophetic voice She leads the Mihee Kim Kort surrounded by a plaza which describes Revolutionary Love Project to reclaim Mihee Kim Kort is a Presbyterian the Plains Indian way of life The path love as a force for justice She founded minister and a self described agitator also leads to Veteran s Park Across speaker writer and slinger of hopeful Groundswell Movement Faithful stories about faith and church Her the river from the hotel you will Internet and the Yale Visual Law L ove o f Ne i g h b o r Va l a r i e Kau r 1 Cor 13 13b valariekaur co m L ove o f S e l f M i h e e K i m Ko r t mkimko rt co m Co n gregat io n al Tal k A s h ley C le e re Ve nu e Love Talks Love of God Diana Butler Bass Dr Bass is an award winning author popular speaker inspiring preacher and one of America s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality The late Marcus Borg called her spontaneous and always surprising and Glennon Doyle praises her razor sharp mind and mystical heart Her most recent book Freeing Jesus received praise from Anne Lamott who writes Diana Butler Bass is one of only a few modern Christian writers who can absolutely blow me away with both spiritual insight and beautiful writing She is a brilliant scholar and a wonderful storyteller charming and devout and deeply human D r u r y Pla z a Hotel Broa dview Wichita find the Delano District which hosts numerous restaurants shops and the new Riverfront Stadium home of the Wichita Wind Surge Home games are scheduled on June 21 26 The Old Town District is a good walk from the hotel but worth the exercise with many ethnic restaurants pubs and shops If it s too long to walk you can rent an electric scooter and drop it off anywhere There are more than seven museums in Wichita three of which are walkable from the hotel the Wichita Sedgwick County Historical Museum the The Kansas African American Museum and Exploration Place The city is called the Air Capitol of the World because of the number of airplanes built here Two aircraft museums honor that title the Kansas Aviation Museum and the Doc Hanger Education and Visitor s Center home of a fully restored and air worthy B 29 named Doc Wichita was a hub of aircraft production including the B 29 Bomber You may want to visit Botanica Cow Town Tanganyka Wildlife Park The Sedgwick County Zoo Wichita State University which grew from Fairmont College founded by Plymouth Congregational Church in 1886 or the Frank Lloyd Wright Allen House just two blocks from Plymouth Finally Wichita has an abundance of art venues including visual and performing arts Too many galleries to count and at least six performing art theaters There s always something to do in Wichita For full details go to visitwichita com 25

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Lloyd C Douglas and The Congregationalist L loyd C Douglas was a bestselling novelist during the 1930s and 40s Although people are usually familiar with The Robe and Magnificent Obsession he wrote a number of other novels most of which were made into motion pictures But long before he was famous Lloyd Douglas wrote for The Congregationalist Back then it was called The Congregationalist and Christian World It was a bi weekly magazine that featured full page ads for Coca Cola and other products Douglas made his debut on January 21 1911 with a humorous article about what not to do when visiting the sick For example don t talk about your own medical problems Though you may have had all your vital organs removed or redistributed hold your peace This is the sick person s day in the limelight and most unfeeling is that friend who in such a moment insists upon a minstrel lay of woe that will go her one better His second piece published three months later April 22 prompted the editor Rev H A Bridgman D D to apologize to his readers Although the author of the regular Sunday School column had already turned in a piece about the Book of Jonah the editor said he couldn t resist printing a second article about Jonah in the same issue especially when we have from the pen of a Washington D C Congregational minister so original and racy a description of the famous episode That word racy has a somewhat different connotation now but here s 26 Ronald R Johnson is author of Small World and What Does God Do from 9 to 5 He has a PhD in Philosophy from Saint Louis University and teaches at Spring Arbor University He is writing a biography of the Congregationalist minister and best selling author Lloyd C Douglas by Ronald R Johnson an example of what he meant Douglas tells about Jonah boarding the ship going to his cabin and falling asleep then draws this modern parallel After being prevailed upon to come into the church many a man decides that since there are no good reasons why he should not come in and two or three pressing reasons such as his wife his mother in law and the preacher why he should come in he comes in and pays his fare and goes to sleep I have known of cases where a church ship had every berth full and nothing short of a wreck or a mutiny among the crew could persuade them to come up on deck Later in the essay Douglas is talking about the storm at sea and how Jonah suggested that they throw him overboard to stop it I have frequently wondered why some people in the churches who surely cannot fail of seeing that they are stormcenters and the cause of all manner of tribulation and discomfiture to the other passengers have not the courage and grace to say If I am the fault of this disturbance do pitch me out And upon this all the people should lend a willing hand and accept this magnanimous proposal after which there would probably be a calm The editor was right about one thing but wrong about another Yes Douglas s article was original and racy But no he was not a Congregational minister not yet He was the pastor of Luther Place Memorial Church a prestigious Lutheran congregation just blocks from the White House It was an enviable position for someone who was only thirty three years old but he wasn t happy there Years later his daughter Virginia remembered him saying of those days There was always too much counting of the tassels on the altar cloth By 1911 he had had enough of it He was testing the waters at The Congregationalist because he was about to jump ship Around this same time The American Magazine published a letter he had sent to the editor The present attitude of the Church he said reminds me somewhat of the old printing press of Benjamin Franklin s down in the National Museum That battered old pile of junk is worth more in dollars and cents than any press in the city notwithstanding the fact that any big newspaper press in the city will print more papers in a minute than Franklin s press could turn out in an afternoon But the man who buys it gets an antique He is not going to print with it but just look at it If the church is valuable only as a curio then no pains should be spared to avoid modifications and signs should be put up about it warning tourists from scratching any of the moss off But if the church is to serve as an agency for humanitarian and philanthropic service such as many of us think was its original purpose there is every reason to believe that forwardlooking writers will be serviceable right now And it might be added that the magazine that features such an article is rendering a public service of no mere negligible quality Douglas wanted to be one of those writers In the summer of 1911 the General Synod of the Lutheran Church in America passed legislation pressuring the denomination s ministers to abide by the Augsburg Confession a credal pronouncement written by an associate of Martin Luther Lloyd Douglas didn t want people telling him what to believe A few weeks later he announced his resignation as pastor of Luther Place He was headed for the University of Illinois to work for the local chapter of the Young Men s Christian Association In those days the YMCA was an evangelistic organization Although Douglas was no evangelist he was popular with young people and spoke their language The trustees of the Y at the University of Illinois had created a special position for him It came at an opportune moment allowing him to leave the Lutheran pulpit gracefully then plan his next move After a few years doing campus ministry he was ready to be a pastor again this time as a Congregationalist And he continued to write articles for The Congregationalist Years later at the height of his fame as a novelist he responded to a fan letter asking about his religious affiliation He told the inquirer that he had long ago become a Congregationalist and he explained why because of the very considerable freedom of thought permitted In each of the congregations he served his parishioners gave him the kind of intellectual freedom usually reserved for college professors His sermons were deeply thoughtful and very honest He spoke his mind fearlessly For example he insisted that God was not a parochial Jehovah or Zeus or Apollo especially concerned with the welfare of any particular class of people at any particular time of history but a Universal Father of all mankind and therefore every alleged quotation of God s voice reported in holy books ours or any other s which reveals Him as a parochial God or engaged in any thought or action not consonant with the thoughts and acts of a cosmic and universal God is no more to be believed or credited because written several thousand years ago by some pious shepherd than if it were to have been written yesterday afternoon on some preacher s typewriter The Congregational Way and The Congregationalist gave Douglas the freedom to say such things And even now over a century later his words are still provocative and inspiring like Jesus 27

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Moving Ministry Out of the Meetinghouse W ith a growing number of churches among the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches considering or taking steps toward leaving leaving their current properties and doing ministry in alternative ways a group has been formed to provide support share experiences and offer resources to congregations in this process The group is co facilitated by the Reverend Dr Charles Packer Senior Minister of the Pine Hill Congregational Church and Dean of the Congregational Foundation for Theological Studies and Thomas Rockwell active member and leader in the First Congregational Church of St Johns Michigan and a current CFTS student enrolled at the Earlham School of Religion in Indiana The meetings are via Zoom approximately every other month and are open to any church in the NACCC that is contemplating relocation from their present building and grounds and exploring different forms of carrying out their mission and doing service in the world Several congregations have taken part in these sessions and many others have expressed interest in attending in the future Participants in these conversations have found it helpful to hear from representatives of other churches making the same kind of decisions and to be able to tell their stories In future gatherings there will be a guiding question presented that can focus some of the discussion on particular topics and issues To attend email drcapacker gmail com for a meeting link or to seek further information The next meeting will take place on Thursday February 24 2022 at 7 00 pm Eastern Time 6 00 pm Central Time 5 00 pm Mountain Time 4 00 pm Pacific Time 3 00 pm Alaska Time QUIET DAY Moves to New Day T o accommodate schedules related to the 2022 Annual Meeting and Conference the Congregational Retreat Society is moving its annual Quiet Day for the first time in decades to Wednesday June 29 2022 after the AMC concludes The venue and theme have yet to be determined and will be announced soon but the time of the retreat 9 00 am3 30 pm should remain consistent with past years Those needing transportation should let the retreat planners know and be in the lobby of the hotel by 8 00 am For more information or to register please contact Chaplain Director Rev Dr Charles Packer at drcapacker gmail com 28 Minister Emeritus Celebration O n November 14th our new minister Rev Dr Mark McAnlis and the members and friends of First Congregational Church in Cape Coral Florida dedicated a large part of our Sunday morning worship service to bestowing upon our retired minister Rev Dr Dewey Gierke the title of Minister Emeritus We selected some of Rev Gierke s favorite hymns and scriptures and a member of our congregation designed and created a beautiful certificate for the occasion We also presented Rev Gierke with a gift Rev Dr Ashley Cleere Executive Director of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches wrote a thoughtful letter which was read during the service and the NACCC sent a lovely basket of flowers Following the service we adjourned to our fellowship hall for a luncheon to Honor Rev Gierke and welcome back our snowbirds to our congregation Rev Gierke has been our minister for 17 years and we are all grateful for his service We are delighted that he will be remaining with us moving from the pulpit to the choir loft Submitted by Maggi Payne First Congregational Church Cape Coral Florida Letters To The Editor Friends I was happy to read two very well written and well reasoned articles in the September issue of The Congregationalist by Arlin Larson and Rob Fredrickson Each in different ways has made a very thoughtful contribution to the ongoing discussion within the NACCC about an issue that has long plagued our nation namely the reality of personal and systemic racism I found Rev Fredrickson s remarks about the banality of evil to be especially helpful While the rise of unabashed white supremacy has grabbed the headlines rightfully so these past five years it is the unspoken and usually unaware fear and prejudice within that has caused so many of us to make decisions that harm others My thinking and actions need to be ruled by grace and kindness but are too often instead determined by what will preserve my place in the world Grace and Peace Ralph Dibiasio Snyder Oshkosh Wisconsin Established in 1849 The Congregationalist has been a notable presence providing resources for local churches promoting just causes defining and shaping the Congregational Way The Congregationalist has been published continuously since 1958 by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches ENSURE THE TRADITION CONTINUES DONATE TO THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONGREGATIONAL CHRISTIAN CHURCHES Please cut and send to The Congregationalist NACCC PO Box 288 Oak Creek WI 53154 Yes Please use my our gift to support the Congregational Way through The Congregationalist Editor s Round Table 1 000 Henry Martyn Dexter Society 500 999 Edward Beecher Society 250 499 Elias Smith Connexion 100 249 249 Sustaining __________ Other A check is enclosed made payable to the NACCC Please Charge my credit card Mastercard Visa Amount ____________________ Card Number_______________________________ CVV Code ____________ Expiration Date _______ _______ Name _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________________________________________________ City ___________________________________________________ State ___________ Zip ________________________ Phone ________________________________ E mail E Address ________________________________________________ Church ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Thank You For Your Generosity All Gifts Are Tax Deductible To The Fullest Extent Allowed By Law 29

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CALENDAR Pastorates PULPITS Recent Calls Rev Dr DeWayne Davis Plymouth Congregational Church Minneapolis MN December 28 2020 Rev Jeff Luchun Mt Hope Congregational Church Livonia MI August 9 2021 Rev Geoffrey W Smith Orthodox Congregational Church Petersham MA October 17 2021 Rev Maurice Sterling First Congregational Church Interlachen FL November 28 2021 Dr Brad Smith Tipton Community Congregational Church Tipton MI December 6 2021 Installations Rev Lynn Bohlmann First Congregational Church Beardstown IL November 14 2021 In Search Senior Minister Cambria Congregational Church Lockport NY Community Congregational Church Kewaunee WI Congregational Church of East Sumner Sumner ME Dixfield Congregational Church Dixfield ME First Church in Pembroke Pembroke MA First Congregational Church Nantucket MA First Congregational Church Spencer IA First Congregational Church Toulon IL First Congregational Church Wayne MI First Congregational Church McCook NE First Congregational Church of East Bloomfield Bloomfield NY First Congregational Church Little Valley NY First Congregational Church Salt Lake City UT First Congregational Church Wauwatosa WI Maple Hill Community Congregational Church Maple Hill KS Oakwood Heights Community Church Staten Island NY Stafford Springs Congregational Church Stafford Springs CT Tinley Park Community Church Tinley Park IL Trinity Congregational Church Adams WI Interim Minister Ongoing NACCC Online Prayer Circle Monday evenings 8pm Central on Zoom To join https www naccc org naccc prayer circle April 25 28 2022 Ministers Convocation West Coast Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center Zephyr Cove NV April 25 28 2022 Ministers Convocation East Coast Camp Wightman Griswold CT May 22 5 2022 Ministers Convocation Midwest Weber Retreat Conference Center Adrian MI June 25 28 2022 68th Annual Meeting Conference Wichita KS June 29 2022 Quiet Day Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview Wichita KS For more information https www naccc org new events events Editor Marianne E King Publisher Carrie Dahm Licensed Minister Contributing Editor Julie Robie Graphic Design Goes Studio Director of Children s Ministry Published quarterly by NACCC Enterprise Congregational Church Enterprise OR First Congregational Church Ann Arbor MI Provisional Licensed Minister Second Church of Plymouth Plymouth MA Mayflower Congregational Church Grand Rapids MI Pilgrim Congregational Church Billings MT Subscriptions Policy SAVE THE DATE First Congregational Church Nantucket MA Non NACCC Church Senior Minister 30 2022 8473 S Howell Ave Oak Creek WI 53154 0288 naccc naccc org Editorial Inquiries Marianne E King 800 262 1620 ext 1624 editor naccc org Editorial Advisory Team Rev Dawn Carlson Rev Dr Barry W Szymanski Rev Dr Michael Glidden Claudia Kniefel Advertising Inquiries Carrie Dahm 800 262 1620 ext 1612 cdahm naccc org Subscription Inquiries One subscription is provided free of charge to each individual requestor who is a member of a church in fellowship with the National Association One complimentary Newcomer Copy will be sent to any person one time only upon request by a church in fellowship with the National Association A subscription to The Congregationalist is provided free of charge to each church in fellowship with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches and one to each accredited theological seminary on the magazine s mailing list Single copies may be purchased from the National Association office for 3 75 plus 3 20 to cover shipping and handling We seek and gratefully accept voluntary donations to help keep this magazine in print The Congregationalist ISSN 0010 5856 Postage paid at Madison WI 537149998 Published quarterly by the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches 8473 S Howell Ave Oak Creek WI 53154 0288 Periodicals postage paid at Madison WI and additional mailings offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to The Congregationalist 8473 S Howell Ave Oak Creek WI 53201 0288 The Congregationalist Online Our Web site naccc org news events the congregationalist features the current issue plus back issues Each new issue is posted on the site when the printed issue is mailed so you typically can read the magazine before the printed copy reaches your mailbox Enjoy SUBSCRIBING CANCELING MOVING Email us at naccc naccc org The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches Mission Statement To nurture fellowship among Congregational Christian Churches and to support ministries of the local church in its community and to the world all in the name of Christ Articles and editorials in The Congregationalist are by the authority of the editor and do not necessarily reflect policies and opinions of the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches The NACCC reserves freedom of expression to its authors as well as freedom of opinion to its readers Copy deadline for each issue is noted in the previous issue s Calendar section Letters to the Editor are welcome All letters may be edited for clarity and length We regret we cannot publish or respond to all letters The NACCC reserves the right to refuse any advertisement 2022 The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches All rights reserved To discontinue receiving the magazine contact Tracy Bernhardt at 800 262 1620 ext 1612 or email naccc naccc org Tracy Bernhardt 800 262 1620 ext 1615 naccc naccc org 31

CongregationalistMarch2022

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